China sets target to develop 1.5 trillion yuan ice and snow industry by 2030

Photo taken on Jan. 14, 2022, shows a snow sculpture during the 28th Harbin snow sculpture competition at the Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo: Xinhua)

China's State Council, the cabinet, issued comprehensive guidelines on Wednesday to boost the vitality of the ice and snow economy with the high-quality development of ice and snow sports.

The guidelines include promoting youth participation in ice and snow sports, enhancing infrastructure and the industrial chain, and the creation of leading enterprises in the sector.

Building on the momentum of 300 million Chinese who have participated in ice and snow sports annually, the guidelines target the ice and snow economy reaching 1.2 trillion yuan ($167.64 billion) by 2027, with better infrastructure, markedly improved services, and enhanced national competitiveness in those sports.

By 2030, main winter sports foundations will achieve coordinated and integrated development, playing a more prominent role in expanding employment, promoting high-quality development, and creating new growth opportunities for the overall economy, according to the guidelines.

Several high-quality destinations for ice and snow sports and tourism will be developed, while the "Ice and Snow Silk Road" and the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Ice and Snow Sports Demonstration Area will advance further in development, with the ice and snow economy reaching 1.5 trillion yuan in economic size, per the guidelines.

The guidelines aim to establish three to five globally recognized ice and snow tourist resorts in locations such as Beijing, Hebei Province, Heilongjiang Province, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Following the release of the government guidelines, several A-share listed companies focused on ice and snow sports saw a significant rise in their share prices on Wednesday.